AFCON 2023 qualifiers: Ivory Coast beats Zambia by 3 goals to 1. Ivory Coast won on Friday against Zambia (3-1), on the first day of the CAN 2023 football qualifiers, at the Yamoussoukro Stadium, inaugurated thanks to this meeting.

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In the first half, the Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire demonstrated great technical skill, but could not achieve the many precious touches made in the opposing camp. The cornered Zambians commit many fouls but show resistance. The pachyderms carry out offensives with relentless will, combined and varied tactics without success.

Back from the locker room, Côte d’Ivoire shows a lack of adjustment of finishes, then few players provide covers. The Chipolopolos will undertake offensives which will be repelled by the Ivorian goalkeeper, Badra Ali.

The departure of the Ivorian striker Sébastien Haller by the coach gives a boost to the game of the Elephants. Serge Aurier, in the 67th minute, opened the scoring, under the valves of cries from the supporters, who crowded the Yamoussoukro stadium.

Following a cross header, in the 76th minute, Elephants striker Christian Kouame scored the second goal for Côte d’Ivoire. In the 89th minute, Ibrahim Sangaré scored the Elephants’ third goal.

Shorthanded in the penalty area, Zambian striker Patson Daka finds the net, scoring the only goal for the Chipolopolos. The new coach of the Elephants, the French Jean-Louis Gasset, succeeds in his first match with the pachyderms.

He called up 25 players for matches on the first and second day of the CAN 2023 qualifiers. He arrived in Abidjan on Wednesday outmatched, five days after his appointment to take office.

With a capacity of 20,000 seats, the Yamoussoukro Stadium has covered stands. This jewel is built for the 34th CAN of which Côte d’Ivoire is the host country and covers an area of 24.66 ha for an investment of 47 billion FCFA.

For the second day of the CAN 2023 qualifiers, on June 9, 2022, the Elephants will travel to South Africa to face the Lesotho Crocodiles. Côte d’Ivoire has already qualified for CAN 2023 as the host country.